National Controversy over Rodeo Clown Wearing Obama Mask

Posted by Warren Krech on August 12, 2013

Don’t clown around when you’re making fun of the President. A rodeo clown wearing a Barack Obama mask at the State Fair has officials and politicians on both sides of the aisle upset. Here’s how it sounded Saturday…

Mark Ficken was elected President of the Missouri Cowboy Rodeo Association that morning, and stepped in to a national controversy that night. Ficken was the public address announcer for the event, but he says it was actually the clown with a wireless microphone who made the controversial comments.

“Now I’ve got to make up for somebody who made a very poor choice, unfortunately, because I was trying to announce a rodeo, and now I’m having to clear my name,” Ficken says.

Dr. Ficken, who is the Superintendent of the Boonville School District, says the rodeo association has taken action against the clown. Missouri State Fair officials, and politicians on both sides of the aisle, have condemned the clown’s comments.

“It’s disturbing to me that that many people at the fair cheered it on. And it obviously wasn’t actually meant to be in good fun,” says Missouri House Minority Leader Jacob Hummel.

Hummel is calling for an investigation and for someone to pay the price because of what happened Saturday in Sedalia. He says state taxpayers chipped in $400,000 to the fair this year.